After fleeing the famine, my older sister and I married the brother next door.

After putting the children to sleep, the warm afternoon sunlight streamed through the paper windows, bathing the kang (heated brick bed) in the east wing. Su Xiaoqing, unable to sleep, lay on her side, watching the fine dust motes dancing in the sunlight on the roof beams. She softly said to her sister, who was gently patting her fourth brother, Afu, beside her, "Sister, next time Big Brother goes to the county town with Xiaohe, let's go together, okay? We've both given birth several months ago, and we're feeling much better. I want to buy some embroidery thread and cotton cloth."

She paused, her voice carrying a long-lost longing for her craft: "We've long since run out of scraps of fabric for making tiger-head shoes and hats, and we don't have much hair tie left either. We can't just spend all our time with the children and the stove... We can't let our embroidery skills really go to waste."

Su Xiaoyin paused slightly as she patted the child, her gaze shifting to the bright sunlight streaming through the window. Yes, the child was her heart's desire, but embroidery was also a skill they brought from Jiangnan, ingrained in their bones, their other means of livelihood besides their home. The heavy weight of late pregnancy and the need to breastfeed after childbirth had indeed put it off for too long.

"That's what I was thinking too." Su Xiaoyin's voice was soft but clear. "When I was pregnant, we were thinking about drawing a small picture of four auspicious events, but we haven't started sewing yet. This time, we can pick out a suitable piece of fine cloth, buy all the silk thread, and try embroidering it."

Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoqing's eyes lit up: "That's right! The design has a good meaning and is festive! Let's make a small embroidery first and see if our skills have deteriorated. If it's still okay, we can challenge ourselves to make a bigger and more complicated one next time!" The two sisters quietly discussed and decided to mention it to their family during dinner that evening.

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In the mountains and forests, the baskets on Mr. and Mrs. Chen's backs grew heavier and heavier. The mountains and forests in spring are a generous treasure trove. In addition to the wild celery and tender shoots that they originally wanted, Mrs. Chen, with her sharp eyes, also recognized several medicinal herbs that she had seen in picture books. She carefully dug them up by the roots and put them into the basket lined with moss.

"Old man, take a rest." Mrs. Chen said, panting, as she leaned against an old pine tree. The sun was high in the sky, and the forest was rather stuffy; her hair was damp with sweat.

Mr. Chen turned around and saw that his wife's basket was overflowing with mountain produce. He quickly put down his own basket and came over: "Old woman, you're a grandmother now, don't always try to be strong. Come on, give me some of what's in your basket." Without saying a word, he transferred the heavier bundle of wild celery and the packet of medicinal herbs from Mrs. Chen's basket to his own.

After catching her breath, Chen's mother looked at her husband's graying temples, feeling both warm and bittersweet, and didn't insist any further. The two rested for a while in the shade of a tree, drank some water, and then shouldered their packs again, continuing their trek down the mountain through the thick layer of fallen leaves.

---

On the other side of the bamboo grove, a different, tense scene unfolded. Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaohe practically jogged through the bamboo thickets. Many families in the village had finished their spring planting and were starting to crave the fresh bamboo shoots, with several small groups arriving sporadically. If they didn't hurry, the best, tender bamboo shoots would be snatched up by others.

The two brothers worked diligently, sweat streaming down their foreheads, but they didn't bother to wipe it away. With each swing of the hoe, spring bamboo shoots, still wrapped in brown sheaths and with fresh soil clinging to their roots, were quickly dug out and tossed into the baskets on their backs.

"Brother, on our way back, shall we cut down a few old bamboo stalks?" Chen Xiaohe straightened up, wiped his sweat, and said, "I'll work on weaving some more things tonight. We can't have too little stock at the next market."

"Okay." Chen Dashan said succinctly, and his hands moved even faster. When their baskets were completely full, he selected a few mature bamboo stalks with long internodes and thick walls, neatly cut them down, trimmed the branches, and he and Chen Xiaohe each carried two stalks.

On their way home, they made a special detour to the riverbank to retrieve the fish baskets they had set a few days earlier. There were no big fish, but each basket contained some small fish and shrimp, about the length of a finger, all lively and jumping around, adding up to about half a basin.

"I'll clean up after dinner tonight." Chen Dashan looked at the small fish. "Tomorrow I'll fry them until crispy and make them into a fish sauce. The fish are fresh in spring; they'll be delicious with rice or in a steamed bun."

---

As night fell, the main room of the Chen family was brightly lit, the aroma of food mingling with the fresh, earthy scent of the day's harvest. At the dinner table, Su Xiaoyin carefully began to speak, mentioning the sisters' plan to resume their embroidery work and their intention to go to the county town to buy materials next time.

After listening, Chen's mother was the first to nod: "It's time to pick it up again! It's a shame to let your skills go to waste. Buy them! Buy whatever you need!" Chen's father also agreed: "The family is better off now, so you can do whatever you want. We'll take care of the children."

Chen Dashan pondered for a moment and said, "You can go, but there are three rules. You can only embroider for half a day each day, no more than two hours. The rest of the time, you can take care of the children, rest, or do some light housework. You can't stare at the embroidery for too long, as it will hurt your eyes and neck. We men and our parents will take care of the heavy housework."

Chen Xiaohe chimed in, "That's right! Sister-in-law, Xiaoqing, your cooking skills are the result of years of hard work, so don't ruin your health. Take it slow."

Seeing that their family members were supportive and cared for them, the two sisters felt warm inside and quickly agreed.

At this moment, Chen's father remembered something and said to Chen Dashan, "Oh right, I almost forgot. When I came back this afternoon, I ran into Aunt Li from the end of the village. She was in a hurry looking for you, saying that her third son is getting married and she wants to have some new furniture made. She asked you to wait for her at home tomorrow morning; I reckon she'll come and talk to you in detail."

Chen Dashan nodded: "Okay, then I'll wait for her at home tomorrow morning. It's also good that I was thinking of making a small low bed for the four boys, Shitou and the others. When it gets hot in the summer, they can lie on it under the shade of the trees in the yard, which is cooler than the kang (heated brick bed)."